Leh, May 1 -- Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that Ladakh is not just a geographical region but a "living laboratory" of Buddhist culture and compassion.

He highlighted that India's civilisation has long promoted the message of peace and that knowledge and cultural traditions have been preserved in the region for centuries.

While addressing the Holy Relics Exposition and Cultural Ceremony on Buddha Purnima in Leh, Shah said, "...When the Dalai Lama comes here, he says that this land is not merely a geographical land. This land is a living laboratory of Buddhist culture and compassion. On this land, knowledge has been preserved... India's civilisation has been conveying the message of peace for thousands of years."

Shah sai...